Iowa, aiming to seal NCAA status, opens Big Ten tourney vs. Maryland

Iowa is listed at No. 25 in the NET Rankings, suggesting that it is a lock for an NCAA Tournament berth.

However, as the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-11) prepare to play 17th-seeded Maryland (12-20) in their Big Ten tournament opener, an unsettling question remains.

Could another loss to a conference bottom-feeder somehow set up Iowa for disappointment on Selection Sunday?

History suggests not. Since the NET Rankings were established in 2018-19, the highest-rated team that failed to gain a bid was No. 29 Indiana State in 2024, but the Sycamores had just one Quad 1 win as opposed to four for the Hawkeyes.

With Iowa, however, it's not so much about the wins as it is about the recent losses. Last month, the Hawkeyes' resume took a hit with road defeats to Penn State and Maryland, teams that finished on the bottom two rungs of the Big Ten standings this season.

"We don't have the talent that can show up at 97%," Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. "We have to be at 100% because that is our greatest talent -- our ability to be ready and to be intense and to compete at the highest level and to, I guess, to impose our will."

The Hawkeyes bring the Big Ten's third-leading scorer, Bennett Stirtz (20.2 points per game), while the Terrapins counter with Andre Mills, who has emerged as an offensive threat, averaging 18.7 ppg over the last 12 games.

"The guards at Maryland love to go downhill, so we're gonna have to be ready to go," Stirtz said on Monday.

Maryland advanced Tuesday with a 70-60, wire-to-wire win over 16th-seeded Oregon. David Coit scored 17 points for the Terrapins and Elijah Saunders made 5 of 6 3-point shots, scoring all 15 of his points from beyond the arc.

"You could argue that the last two games have been our best two games," Maryland coach Buzz Williams said afterward, also referring to his team's 78-72 loss to then-No. 11 Illinois on Sunday.

The Terrapins suffocated the Ducks early as Oregon missed its first 11 shots from the floor. The Terrapins outrebounded their taller opponents 38-28.

"Maryland is very dependent on offensive rebounds and just physicality," McCollum said.

The Terrapins face a challenging turnaround as they play at 11 a.m. (local time) after tipping off at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

"We played the last Big Ten regular-season game on Sunday. We played the first game in the Big Ten tournament on Tuesday," Williams added. "Maybe the players do better with less coaching than more coaching."